December 7, 2015

Nancy Gibbs
Time Inc.
225 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281
Dear Ms. Gibbs,
According to media reports, Ubers CEO Travis Kalanick is among the final contenders to be
Time Magazines 2015 Person of the Year.
On behalf of the United Spinal Association, I respectfully request that you remove him from
your list and not honor a man whose company refuses to provide wheelchair users with equal
access to its transportation fleet.
Since Uber began operating in New York City three years ago, Mr. Kalanick has had policies in
place that discriminate against wheelchair users by prohibiting Ubers drivers from using
accessible vehicles. Uber has 30,000 cars operating in New York City and not a single one is
wheelchair accessible.
Despite ongoing efforts to get Uber to invest in these vehicles, Uber instead relies on a
government-subsidized accessible transportation that is routinely short-staffed. In fact, Ubers
aggressive recruitment of taxi drivers is exacerbating this staffing situation, leaving fewer drivers
available to operate these vehicles and forcing wheelchair users to find other ways to get around.
In many cases, wheelchair users have no transportation option available to them at all.
Times Person of the Year award should not honor a man who oversees a company that
discriminates against wheelchair users. I strongly encourage you to examine the negative impact
of Mr. Kalanicks success and how it has set the accessible transportation movement back for
decades.
Thank you for your time, and good luck in making your final selection.
Sincerely,

James Weisman
President & CEO